Defending Champions Ready for Battle at 26th USWDGC
Date Published
The countdown to the 2025 USWDGC has begun, with 16 PDGA Major champions returning to defend their titles from last year. The highly anticipated event will take place over four days on the shores of Lake Michigan in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, where players will compete across 19 divisions. This marks the 26th running of the USWDGC, a celebration and competition that showcases the best women's disc golf talent.
Among the defending champions is Missy Gannon, who claimed her first PDGA Major title at the 2024 USWDGC in Austin, Texas, and followed it up with another win at the PDGA Champions Cup last month. This year, she will face stiff competition from 77 other players, including the top 10 women's disc golfers in the Official Disc Golf World Rankings.
Some notable defending champions have made significant jumps this year. Addison Woodard (FA1 in 2024), Rebecca Don (FJ18 in 2024), and Shelby Cowen (FJ15 in 2025) have all moved up to the FPO division, while Chris O'Cleary (FP55 in 2024) and Sandy Gast (FP65 in 2024) will battle it out in FP60. Micah Tilford, last year's FA2 champion, has made a record-breaking move to the top-heavy FA1 field of 47 players.
Other defending champions set to compete include Stephanie Vincent (FP40), Juliana Korver (FP50), Lynne Gerber, Allie Lawler, Donna Stanley, Patti Adams, Eva Lutsenko, and Hayden Harper. These experienced competitors will be joined by over 330 players from across the country, making for a thrilling four rounds of competition that promises to be both fierce and friendly.
Throughout the event, fans can catch all the action live on PDGA Live, with full coverage of the 2025 USWDGC available online.
This article was compiled from disc golf coverage with AI assistance. Source: pdga.com — https://www.pdga.com/news/major-manitowoc